2014’s Resolutions, How Did I Do?

Hello! Are you so excited about it being 2015? I am looking forward to so much of what’s ahead, but before I get too far ahead of myself, I thought I would look back at my resolutions from last year and give myself a grade for how well I did!

Since there is little to no chance anyone will remember what my resolutions were, here’s a reminder,

So, how did I do? I had some success, and then some complete failures. (I guess that’s probably not so very odd, as I am sure I am in good company with lots of other people’s success rates!)

1. I did completely overhaul the look of my blog, and all in all I am pretty happy with it, especially since it was just Paul and I working on it, I think it is very me, and I like that it is at least a cohesive concept, not just a place holder.

2. Nope, I didn’t even try to become a better photographer this year, I mean I didn’t TRY to take bad pictures, but I also didn’t learn more about my camera, techniques, lighting, or anything like that. I don’t know where the year went honestly!

3. I would say I get a B, B- in this arena, I definitely did sew a lot more for myself this year, I made myself clothes to wear in Thailand, and experimented with different styles and patterns than I usually would for myself (of course very little made it onto the blog because I failed to follow through with blogging most of the time.)

4. FAIL! I did not sew all of Emmie’s clothes this year, not even most of her clothes. To be honest I just ran out of time for all the real stuff I needed to do, and it was just easier and more cost effective to buy her things when it came down to it. I did sew for her, but not even for pretend most of her stuff. The lesson I learned about this one, honestly it’s too much pressure. I did well until back to school with not buying her things, but that didn’t mean I did well with sewing, she just wore all the clothes she already had, and then as she dwindled down in options from growing, she just had to have something, and I caved and bought.

5. Fail! I did use my stash for a lot of projects, but I also did a lot of fabric buying, I just couldn’t seem to help myself……

6. This one I don’t even know what to say….. I obviously didn’t do a single blog series this year, I did do a lot of my sewing based off of the idea for one, but it did not get blogged about (I’m an iceberg I tell you, I only blog about 10% or less of what I actually do below the surface…)

7. Seriously, HOW did I not get this done this year? Actually I know how, I couldn’t find the fabric I wanted anywhere (navy, pale blue, brown, beige, grey, etc. without any colors I don’t want, is not as easy as I had hoped for in quilting fabric.) This year I am determined to make something happen though, seriously it’s getting silly.

8. I get a C, I totally did this, and then let it all fall apart again. maintenance is clearly not as fun as making things, so I fell off the organization wagon.

9. A++ Yay! are we surprised I managed to fit in the fun stuff??? I did go visit my family (and had them come visit me!) We did go to Thailand, and Japan to go to Disney, but we also made it to Hong Kong to go to their Disney too! (we have now officially been to every Disney Park in the world!)

10. I think I get a good solid B here, I did cook at home a lot more! We are exploring nutrition and healthy options a lot more, and have even gone somewhat Paleo/Primal in our eating. I have been working on improving the taste and health of the food we eat, and have even baked a lot more than I have in years past. I didn’t include the kids in cooking as much as I would have liked the second half of the year once they went back to school, since it just seemed like time got tighter.

11. We had some success with this, and some failure. Isaac is completely doing his own laundry now. Emmie will leave her clothes until they are crazy dirty, and then we either give in because she has nothing left, or we “somehow” end up with her laundry in our basket. It’s a constant work in progress just to get her to make it a priority. Maybe 12 is a little to “young” for her to get it, but we are going to keep working at it.

and 12. HA! No, this did not happen. I only realized after the fact what a silly resolution this is for me right now. The VAST majority of my purchases are made online, so no, they can’t be done with cash. (out in Korea we usually pay cash, but I don’t buy that much out there.) We had trips, that we paid cash for, but lets be real, we didn’t live frugally or on a limited budget if we were in Disney twice this year (Um, or 3 times for me since I went while in California with my family in the spring) I did TRY to think about being frugal, but between finding out Zulily ships APO, and whatever else I got up to, I didn’t do us any massive savings favors.

So all in all, I did well in some arenas, and horrifically in others. I don’t feel too bad though because I did get to lots of things that aren’t on this list, and some of them caused greater balance than I knew I needed.

The big change for me was I started going to the gym 3-5 times a week this year, I feel healthier and stronger than I ever have in my entire life. I actually really look forward to my gym time, and feel like a total boss for being able to push through hard things. Going to the gym really sucks up your day though, by the time you have gone, worked out, and come home and gotten cleaned up, there seems to be less day than I would like left. It has definitely cut into my time to make stuff, but I think it has been really good for me to create a little more balance in my life.

I published my first digital pattern, which was pretty fun, and I would love to do more. (They are a lot of work to digitize though.)

And I was on the board of our spouse’s club, and was in charge of a huge fundraising auction, that was done in a handmade item boutique format, and I made lots of things for it in addition to organizing it all.

So, I did fit a lot of things in!!!

I have already thought about my 2015 resolutions, and will hopefully post about them in the next few days, I like having them written down here, I think it’s fun to look back!

So how did you do with your resolutions? Did you do well, or did you fail like me? Or do you not make resolutions?

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2 comments for “2014’s Resolutions, How Did I Do?”

Kelly T.

January 2, 2015 at 5:46 am

Hello! I’m the one who won your birthday giveaway and I have that Sweet Sara Apron- I wear it all the time when in the kitchen, have been complimented on it, and my 5 year old says I look pretty in it. 🙂 So thank you!
I don’t make resolutions- I used to way back when, but never could keep them, so I just gave up. I SHOULD make a resolution to eat healthier- I do run 5 or 6 times a week, but for all that exercise, I eat too much junk food.